Lake Erie Data Center

The Lake Erie Data Center contains maps, documents, photographs, and other data from over 130 years of research along Ohio's Lake Erie shoreline. Examples of the materials include:

• Shoreline and bathymetry maps of Lake Erie and Sandusky Bay.
• Aerial photographs dating to 1937.
• Shoreline and nearshore bottom profiles.
• Daily lake level records.
• Historical photographs of the shoreline.

Division of Geological Survey researchers sample lake bottom sediments in this 1982 photo.

From its beginnings as the Division of Shore Erosion in 1950, the Division of Geological Survey's Lake Erie Geology Group conducted research on coastal processes, Lake Erie bottom sediments and bathymetry, coastal stratigraphy and engineering properties, erosion and many other areas, and collected data at a level of detail that was unprecedented among the Great Lakes states. The oldest data represented are copies of shoreline surveys dating to 1876-77.

The research vessel GS-1 served ODNR for over 50 years, mapping Ohio’s Lake Erie bottom.

With the closure of the Lake Erie Geology Group office in late 2007, the materials and data amassed over the decades were relocated to the Horace R. Collins Laboratory. Archiving and cataloging of these materials is an ongoing process, but most of the materials will eventually be made available to researchers and other interested parties for viewing and photocopying. Some materials are also being converted to digital formats and will be available for delivery by electronic means.

The Lake Erie Data Center is available for use by appointment only. To schedule an appointment, please contact D. Mark Jones, or Gregory Schumacher.